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WALLED CITY OF QUEBEC

December 20, 2014 By Howard Kramer 2 Comments

Quebec City, Canada Quebec, capital of the province of the same name, is the only true walled city in North America, and one of the greatest fortifications in the Western hemisphere.  Founded in the early 17th century, the city walls were erected in an age where such defenses were quickly becoming obsolete.  In fact, Quebec City is among the very last walled cities to be … [Read more...]

WALLED CITY OF PINGYAO

December 20, 2014 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

Pingyao, China Pingyao is the greatest surviving walled city in the Far East.  As in the west, many of China’s greatest cities were defended by walls in the Middle Ages.  But few of these survive intact to the present day.  This makes Pingyao the best preserved medieval city in China, and one of that country’s greatest historical sites.  The walls and towers of Pingyao are … [Read more...]

WALLED CITY OF ITCHAN KALA

December 20, 2014 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

Khiva, Uzbekistan Itchan Kala is the largest intact walled city in Central Asia, and among the most magnificent surviving walled cities on the continent.  Its picture-perfect, sandy-colored crenelated walls and domed towers look as though it has been built as a movie set.  Thanks to its isolated location, distant from Tashkent, Bokhara and Samarkhand, Itchen Kala in Khiva is … [Read more...]

WALLED CITY OF BAKU

December 20, 2014 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

Baku, Azerbaijan Baku in Azerbaijan is the largest and best-preserved medieval walled city in the Caucasus region.  Thanks in large part to its strategic yet out-of-the-way position on the west coast of the Caspian Sea, and a lot of good fortune, the city of Baku survived the ravages of the Middle Ages reasonably intact.  Because of this, and because of of exceptional … [Read more...]

WALLED CITY OF HARAR

December 20, 2014 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

Harar, Ethiopia Harar is one of the few and unquestionably the most impressive walled, medieval city in Sub-Saharan Africa.  Encompassing a very large municipal area, the extremely long wall neatly separates the city’s white-washed buildings from the lush green surrounding countryside.  Harar owe’s its excellent and world-famous fortification to its position on the eastern … [Read more...]

WALLED CITY OF KAIROUAN

December 20, 2014 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

Kairouan, Tunisia The Walled City of Kairouan in Tunisia is among the finest in Africa, rivaling the various casbahs of Morocco in size and magnificience and surpassing them historically.  Once considered by many in North Africa to be the fourth holiest city in the Islamic world, Kairouan was an important political and religious center throughout much of the Middle Ages.  … [Read more...]

WALLED CITY OF DUBROVNIK

December 20, 2014 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

Dubrovnik, Croatia Dubrovnik, the Pearl of the Adriatic, is a rare surviving walled city by the sea.  This former maritime republic once welcomed merchant ships from all over the Mediterranean.  It now welcomes cruise ships from all over the world.  For many visitors, their first site of this historic walled city is usually by sea, which makes it an exceptionally rare, special … [Read more...]

WALLED CITIES OF NORTHERN ITALY (LUCCA, MONTAGNANA, SAN GIMIGNANO)

December 20, 2014 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

Northern Italy The late Middle Ages in northern and central Italy witnessed the rise of powerful city-states which had grown wealthy off of European and Mediterranean trade and support for the Crusades in the east.  More than a dozen major city-states and scores of lesser ones emerged in the 12th century, each vying for its share of wealth and power in the Italian peninsula.  … [Read more...]

WALLED CITY OF AVILA

December 20, 2014 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

Avila, Spain When it comes to walled cities, Avila in Spain is about as impressive as it gets.  Although it may lack the fairy-tale aesthetics of Carcassone or Rothenburg, few other surviving walled cities in Europe convey the true military importance of defensive fortifications as well as Avila does.  Absolutely dominating the surrounding hills and cityscape, from certain … [Read more...]

WALLED CITY OF YORK

December 20, 2014 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

York, England The walls of York, incomplete as they are, are still the best surviving municipal fortifications in the British Isles.  Although York is perhaps a bit less spectacular than its counterparts in Avila and Carcaossonne, it is nevertheless impressive in its own right.  The walls of York are perhaps more important from an historic standpoint.  Dating back in part to … [Read more...]

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THE COMPLETE AMERICAN PILGRIM – NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

THE COMPLETE PILGRIM

Welcome to The Complete Pilgrim(TM)! This site, created by Howard Kramer, is a combination travel blog and online guide to the world's greatest sites of religious interest (with some historic and recreational places thrown in for good measure). All written content has been originally researched and produced and is provided free for public research and enjoyment. Thank you for visiting!

Site of the Week

WITTENBERG CASTLE CHURCH

WITTENBERG CASTLE CHURCH

Wittenberg, Germany The … [Read More...]

Friends of TCP Spotlight

5 PLACES TO VISIT IN HISTORIC PHILADELPHIA – MUSLIM TRAVEL ROCKS

5 PLACES TO VISIT IN HISTORIC PHILADELPHIA – MUSLIM TRAVEL ROCKS

by Glory Ali The City of Brotherly Love offers tons to see and do and get this, it’s FREE. That’s right you heard it right it’s FREE. Click here for complete article  

MOVING THE U.S. EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM – FAITH IN FAITHS

MOVING THE U.S. EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM – FAITH IN FAITHS

by Mary Neuhauser President Trump recently announced his intentions to move the United States Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, thereby recognizing Jerusalem as the official capital of Israel. The purpose of this article is to give you a brief overview of what this decision means and why it matters. Click here for […]

Photo of the Week

BASILICA OF ST. DENIS

Last month, I visited one of the most fascinating churches I have ever been to, the almost completely ignored Basilica of St. Denis in the northern suburbs of Paris.  Almost every French monarch is buried here, and almost nobody goes here.  Here are some pics I took:

Basilica of St. Denis

Tomb of Clovis

Tomb of Clovis

Tombs of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

Tombs of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

Tomb of Louis XIV The Sun King

Tomb of Louis XIV The Sun King

Royal Tombs

Royal Tombs

The Crypt

The Crypt

 

 

 

 

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Where would you like to go?

Africa (North) Africa (Sub-Sahara) Arabia Armenia/Azerbaijan/Georgia Australia/Pacific Austria/Switzerland Balkans Belgium/Netherlands British Isles Canada Caribbean Central Asia China Czech Republic Egypt France Germany Greece Hungary/Romania/Bulgaria India (NE)/Nepal India (NW) India (South)/Sri Lanka Iran/Iraq Israel Italy/Malta Japan/Korea Latin America Mexico Palestine Poland/Lithuania Russia Scandinavia Southeast Asia Spain/Portugal Syria/Jordan/Lebanon Turkey/Cyprus Ukraine US-California US-Mid Atlantic US-Midwest US-New England US-New York US-Pacific Northwest US-South US-Southwest

Contact Us

Have a comment, a great photo or a religious site you'd like to nominate for the weekly spotlight? We would love to hear from you. Email us at hkramer@thecompletepilgrim.com.

About the Author

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is the culmination of years of his work and passion.

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